Campaign For Free Expression Urges Diplomats To Push For Blessed Mhlanga’s Release

Nicole Fritz, executive director of the South Africa-based non-profit Campaign for Free Expression (CFE), has urged the international diplomatic community to step in and pressure Zimbabwean authorities to release senior journalist Blessed Mhlanga of Heart & Soul TV (HStv).

Mhlanga has been held in pre-trial detention since his arrest on 24 February 2025, accused of transmitting messages that allegedly incite violence.

Fritz slammed the arrest as unlawful, calling it just one example of what she described as a broader effort by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to silence critical voices and criminalise free speech using laws that go against the Constitution. She said:

It is high time that Blessed Mhlanga have his freedom restored, be returned to his family and be able to conduct his profession unhindered.

It is long overtime that the Mnangagwa government cease its relentless suppression of freedom of expression and allow Zimbabweans both to call and organise for better government.

We call on the diplomatic community, and on South Africa in particular, to make Blessed Mhlanga’s continued incarceration a matter for general engagement on Zimbabwe-related issues.

The charges against journalist Blessed Mhlanga stem from an interview he conducted with outspoken war veteran Blessed Geza, which aired on HStv.

During the broadcast, Geza openly accused President Mnangagwa of corruption and called for his immediate resignation.

In the wake of the interview, police filed charges against Geza, accusing him of inciting public violence. 

Now, Mhlanga finds himself caught in the crosshairs, facing legal action simply for doing his job as a journalist.

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